Psychedelic Mushrooms in Christian Art? Why Does Jan Irvin Look at Nails and Think He Sees Shrooms?

 

                                                                         

J. R. Irvin, The Holy Mushroom: Evidence of Mushrooms in Judeo-Christianity (Appendix by Jack Herer; Grand Terrace, CA: Gnostic Media, 2008), plate 33.

Those advancing the theory that early and medieval Christian art was intentionally filled with hidden images of psychedelic mushrooms are often shown to be disturbingly ill informed with regard to what is actually being portrayed in the pictures they adduce as evidence for their theory. As one reads the adventurous and idiosyncratic texts of these authors it quickly becomes apparent that very often little or no effort has been expended on undertaking the serious study of the norms and symbolism of Christian iconography. Rather the impression is given that the writers have simply rifled through pictures without understanding looking for anything that roughly resembles mushrooms. In the present brief note we examine one example of this provided by Jan Irvin, author of The Holy Mushroom (2008) and curator of the official website of the late John Marco Allegro.

Plate 33 of Irvin's book presents a picture from the British Library's 14th century Holkham Bible (Add MS 47682, fol. 42v). Irvin describes the image as follows:

The wounded Christ sits flanked by two angels with the 'instruments of the Passion'. The angel on the left stares at three distinct mushrooms that he holds in his hand; while the angel on the right holds a spear…Jesus is seen with both arms up, a mushroom in his right hand and an unidentified object in his left.

Irvin evidently copied the line "instruments of the Passion" from some source without knowing what it referred to. Had he understood it, he would not have described what the angel on the left is holding as mushrooms. "Instruments of the passion" primarily refer to the items traditionally involved in the crucifixion of Jesus: the cross, the spear that pierced his side, the sponge filled with vinegar lifted to his lips, the lots cast for his clothes (often presented as dice), the nails. A theme that features these items along with images illustrating other events and items surrounding the crucifixion of Christ is referred to in Latin as Arma Christi (weapons, implements, etc. of Christ). Arma Christi images are filled with such items. Notice in each case the three nails pointed out by blue arrows in the pictures below.

 


Three is the usual number of nails (clavi) in such pictures, and it is immediately obvious to anyone familiar with the iconography of the "instruments of the passion," that this is what we are looking at in the Holkham Bible image. When we are told that the two angels have the "instruments of the passion," the reference is to the crown of thorns and the spear held by the angel on the right and the cross and three nails (not mushrooms) held by the angel on the left. 



Irvin's second claim, that "Jesus is seen with both arms up, a mushroom in his right hand and an unidentified object in his left," is completely spurious. Indeed, Jesus has nothing in either hand.  We only see the wounds in his hands, side, and feet, each surrounded by blood.



It is interesting that Irvin references the particular image he does from the Holkham Bible, since the one that appears just before contains the same items and is in much better condition.

Holkham Bible (Add MS 47682), fol. 42r




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